Find Vegan Foods

Food Empowerment Project’s mission is to help people understand how their food choices can change the world-for the good.

The first step to ethical eating is to go vegan and eat only plant-based foods, which will benefit animals, our environment and our health. If you have time to cook, the best and most nutritious foods will be those you make yourself from whole plant foods (including canned, frozen and fresh fruits and vegetables). You might also check out our Recipes page and our sister site VeganMexicanFood.com.

When shopping for packaged foods, you’ll want to read the labels to ensure your food item contains only plant ingredients (if unsure of an ingredient, you can consult the HappyCow Ingredients to Avoid list*). Hint: if the product has any cholesterol, then it is not vegan (plants do not contain cholesterol). Some products may be labeled as vegan, which means you typically don’t have to read the ingredients. Explore unfamiliar aisles at the supermarket (and unfamiliar grocery stores) – you may discover some great new vegan items to try!

When eating out, if available, your best option will be a vegan or vegetarian restaurant, but you may also have good luck at the following kinds of restaurants: Afghani, Burmese, Chinese, Ethiopian, Greek, Indian, Mexican, Middle Eastern, Nepalese, Tibetan, Thai, Vietnamese. Just be sure to nicely ask your server about the possibility of animal ingredients to ensure you can get your dish animal-free (it may help to ask specific questions, such as “Is there any fish sauce or egg in the Vegetable Pad Thai?” at a Thai restaurant or “Is there any lard or pork in the refried beans?” at a Mexican restaurant). If you’re technology-oriented, you might search online to find some smartphone apps or websites to assist you in finding vegan-friendly restaurants in your vicinity.

If you would like to try vegan versions of popular foods made with animal products, we’ve put together a list of vegan products that we have taste-tested and recommend. From non-dairy condiments to mock meats, you’ll find an incredible array of delicious foods listed below.

Some important notes:

Because of labor concerns, we recommend you choose carefully when purchasing the following products: chocolate, wine, soda.

Because of deforestation and indigenous human rights concerns, we recommend you avoid vegan foods that contain palm oil. We have included products that contain palm oil marked with a strikethrough (not recommended) as we were concerned that if we left them off, it might be unclear if we were aware of their existence.

Some products might be more difficult to find than others, but do ask your grocer to stock them if they aren’t available.

You can also buy some vegan food items through online retailers, so if you can’t get them locally, try searching online.

We include company names (below) for your convenience in locating recommended products; however, we do not endorse any specific company (and some companies may produce other products that are not vegan or include non-recommended plant foods like palm oil or unethically sourced chocolate).

If you know of other tasty vegan, palm-free foods that we do not have listed, please let us know!

This certainly is not a definitive list of the companies we have listed below, but we wanted to be transparent about some of the companies. Daiya is owned by Otsuka Pharmaceutical, which is required by law to do animal testing; Gardein is owned by a subsidiary of Conagra, a huge food conglomerate with a list of environmental and labor issues, and also owns companies that kill animals for food; Stoneyfield is a dairy company that uses cows for milk; and Chao, Field Roast, and LightLife are owned by Maple Leaf Foods (packaged “meat” company).

Parma! Vegan Parmesan made from walnuts, nutritional yeast, and other ingredients comes in a shaker bottle (great sprinkled on pasta, salads, and popcorn!). Comes in Original, Chipotle Cayenne, and Garlicky Green, and Better Than Bacon flavors.

Road’s End Organics – Cheese packets of instant sauces are great for mac ‘n’ cheese (comes in Cheddar and gluten free Alfredo and Cheddar styles).

Violife – Offering an assortment of cheeses, they have two styles of dairy-free shreds (mozzarella, cheddar) and slices in a variety of flavors (cheddar, smoked provolone, mature cheddar). They also offer a feta block and a parmesan wedge.

“MILK”

There are a many milks, in several flavors, made from plants such as soy, rice, almond, coconut, oat, pea, cashew, and hemp. Most large grocery stores have them in both refrigerated and shelf-ready packaging. Single serving sizes are available in many stores and are great to pack in school lunches.

ENER-G – Egg Replacer. Made from potato and tapioca starch, this powder can be quickly mixed with water to substitute for egg in baking recipes. It is not suitable for eating raw or for recipes where egg would be a primary element (e.g., quiche).

Follow Your Heart VeganEgg – Soy-based egg replacer can be used to bake cookies, muffins, and cakes and to make fluffy scrambled eggs and omelets.

Just Egg – Liquid egg replacer made from mung beans and turmeric. Scrambles and tastes like eggs. Use to make French toast, omelets, quiches, fried rice, and more!

NeatEgg – Made from chia seeds and garbanzo beans to be used in baking. One package equals 18 eggs. Available in stores in the eastern United States and online. Neat also makes plant-based cookie, brownie, and pancake mixes.

Trader Joe’s – These salad dressings can be found in the deli: Green Goddess, Almond Butter Turmeric, and Carrot Miso Ginger. These Trader Joe’s dressings can be found in grocery: Goddess and Tuscan Italian.

Neat – Soy and gluten free meat replacer in Original, Italian, Mexican, and Southwest blends. Use in burgers, chili, sloppy joes, meatballs, and more. One package equivalent to 1 pound of ground beef. Available online and in stores in the eastern United States.

*Please note, although Food Empowerment Project may include links to information elsewhere online, we do not have control over other sites information and do not necessarily endorse the contents of the destination site.